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Re: Treatment Free Commercial Beekeepers?

Hey I have not read all of this. And really do not know how this works but....
I run 1800 colonies without mite treatment. Last hard chemicals 2003. Oxalic 2004 and 05.
Some apigaurd 2007. Match my neighbors crops. Send bees toalmonds. In forty years
have NEVER bought outside bees other than breeder queens.
All you nonbelievers - it can be done. I keep bees like I did pre-mites.

Re: Treatment Free Commercial Beekeepers?

I have not done an ether roll since 2004. When I see a mite I say "Oh, a mite". I don't care. Its genetics. When I said I keep bees like pre-mites I meant exactly that.
And I am tired of being called crazy or a liar. I have spoken to, had supper with, drank a beer with many of the top names in bee research and never, not one has said they would like to see my operation. I guess I might endanger their job security. Bob Reiners SD State Apiarist is the only one. I think he believes. I am just one guy. I wish the whole industry would get on board and believe. And demand the queen breeders get to work on it.

Re: Treatment Free Commercial Beekeepers?

Originally Posted by Chris Baldwin

Last three years -May 1 thru March 1 about 30%. Lots of guys treating are doing worse.

And lots of guys that treat are doing a whole lot better.
30% is totally unacceptable.
30% 0f 1800 is 540 hives that you are proud to lose every year?
That is $81,000.00 of lost revenue in almonds alone!!?
None of this makes any rational sense to me.
And your overuse of the words, "believe" and "belief" is unusual for the context.
No one is calling you a liar. But maybe you are forgetting; we keep bees too!
We wern't born yesterday.
If it sounds too good to be true.....

I have exactly ONE hive more than you.
That makes my opinion beyond question.

Re: Treatment Free Commercial Beekeepers?

Chris: Glad you are joining the discussion. In fairness to Chris I don't think the question is so much how much revenue he may be losing each year by not treating but whether he is self sustaining and whether he is happy with and able to live off of the revenue stream that his bees provide. Please give us more specifics as far as your management practices as a fellow South Dakota migratory beekeeper my mind is open but I would like to hear more specific information. I would also like to hear exactly why you have chosen this route. Do you feel it is only possible to produce as pure product by never treating or do you feel that your bees are better off in the long run or is it both? Just tell your story and state your case Chris this forum is usually a little long on theory and a little short on actual working experience so don't be offended when folks in the business ask hard questions.

"People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe."- Andy Rooney

Re: Treatment Free Commercial Beekeepers?

I don't remember what managing bees premites was like, other than not managing mites. There aught to be a list of details. Maybe people don't know how to express what it is they do.

I was talking to a VT beekeeper a cpl days ago, face to face, and he said that Michael Palmer, another VT beekeeper, has been having trouble finding mites. Perhaps Michael's "secret" is stationary beekeeping, growing his own queens, and nucing colonies in July for overwintering to cover winterloss.

Re: Treatment Free Commercial Beekeepers?

I hope you don't get discouraged Chris, I'm interested to hear more, though I suspect as in my case, there simply isn't much more.

I also get conflicting statements like unacceptable losses which are too good to be true.

Ha ha Solomon, that was funny!

Chris spoke at the 2011 Northeast Treatment-Free Beekeeping Conference in Leominster. He gave a great talk on the history and management of his operation, spent a week with us and our attendees sharing and talking non-stop. There was one day post-conference when we let him take a nap.

We had one disgruntled attendee who wondered why we let the commercial migratory guy in. Sometimes you just have to laugh...

Re: Treatment Free Commercial Beekeepers?

Originally Posted by Barry

"BEES, 6-7 brood boxes full of brood makes a lot of bees.", and then get a crop of honey off them as well?

Barry, the way I interpreted it, at the end of the season, he shakes out the bees and then stacks the brood boxes with brood, still in the comb, 6 - 7 boxes high. The brood emerges....and that emerging brood makes a lot of bees. I guess those bees keep the moths at bay until it gets really cold.

Dan www.boogerhillbee.com
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards